159. That number travelled through the crowds in a wave of whispers. Both in disbelief and doubt. Naturally the mention of cheating was quick to rise, but it was crushed as fast as it sprouted.
Even if she had cheated with the numbers, which was already an impossible task, they had all felt that explosion. At that point, fiddling with the numbers would be pointless, and there was no way any of them could come close to matching that.
The star student, the one who had challenged Valerie and had previously held the record with a score that seemed pathetic in comparison now, had not said a word for the last minute. In fact he barely made a sound, as he sat completely motionless on his knees, staring at the dummy that he had spent years of his life training against.
